Yamaha Motor Australia press release:

It was blue sky above but very wet under foot as Yamaha Racing tackled round four of the MX Nationals on a tough and technical Horsham circuit, in Victoria.

Heavy rain on Thursday evening left the track thick, muddy and extremely difficult to ride but the show must go on and it was gum boots on and off to work the Yamaha teams went.

It again proved to be another successful day with Yamaha winning the MX1 and MX2 categories in the hands of Dean Ferris (CDR Yamaha) and Wilson Todd (DPH Motorsports) while Cody Dyce (Yamalube Yamaha Racing) bought home his YZ250F in second place in the MXD division.

Those three riders also hold the points leaders red plate in all three championship classes after Wilson Todd snatched the MX2 red plate from Mitch Evans (Serco Yamaha). In fact, the top three riders in the MX2 class are Yamaha mounted with Jackson Richardson (Serco Yamaha) sitting in third.

To view the ‘bLU cRU’ video round wrap of the Horsham round: https://youtu.be/_ulaXs-voJg

CDR Yamaha – MX1
1st Dean Ferris (Yamaha YZ450F)

Craig Dack – Team Manager
“Dean has started the season exceptionally well but Horsham was arguably his most impressive performance. His starts were good and then his on track speed and bike skill were on another level in conditions that every other rider struggled with. He led every lap of both motos and won by comfortable margins so it was a real message sent to his rivals.

“But it was also a real test for the team as the conditions were hard on bikes and equipment so the boys had to work hard between the motos to keep everything rolling along.

“We have enjoyed an amazing opening four rounds but it has come from a lot of work and commitment from everyone on the team. We look forward to finishing off the first half of the season strongly this weekend and taking a break to come back revived and refreshed for a big second half of the season.”

SERCO Yamaha – MX2
5th Mitch Evans (Yamaha YZ250F)
7th Jackson Richardson (Yamaha YZ250F)

Gavin Eales – Team Manager
“It was a tough for weekend for our guys in terms of results although there wasn’t much damage done on the score board. Mitch lost the red plate but kept battling away all day to salvage a reasonable points haul. He finished fourth in the first race but a first turn crash in race two ruined any chance of a good result for the day but he never gave up and kept at it.

“Jackson came away pretty frustrated with his day and made some mistakes out there that we hope he learns from. He was comfortably in second in race one before going down in the first turn and then couldn’t get his bike out of the sticky mud and dropped to 11th pace in that moto.

“He settled down in the second moto and took a top five result. Despite finishing seventh overall for the day, he moved into third in the championship points as the mud proved to be very difficult for all the riders in the MX2 class. In moto one, less than half the field actually finished the race so getting points in both motos was a priority.

Yamalube Yamaha Racing – MXD
2nd Cody Dyce (Yamaha YZ250F)
4th Cooper Pozniak (Yamaha YZ250F)

Scott Bishop – Team Manager
“Conditions like we had on the weekend are not easy for the MXD guys as many of the races like that they experience in juniors are often shortened or cancelled as the smaller capacity bikes can’t get around. So, for us, we emphasized the importance of looking after the bike during the race and ensuring that we finish each race and gain points- the smartest rider is the winner here today, not always the fastest.

“With that in mind, moto one went pretty well for us with Cooper finishing second and just being smart. He had a huge cap on third so he just needed to keep circulating and stay safe. Unfortunately for Cody, he went down in the first turn so he had a lot of work to do but clawed his way back to sixth by the end of the moto.

Race two and Cody just dominated. He got to the lead early and raced out to a 15 second lead and maintained that gap so it was a good rebounding ride from him and kept his championship lead on track.

Cooper is also looking good and inside the top five but when he tried to get past a lapped rider, he went off the dry racing line and into the mud and crashed. Again, it took some time for him to get going and he lost several positions. Coop is frustrated with his consistency but he has been battling some injury. He is working hard and I’m sure the wheel is about to turn for him.

“It was also a tough weekend for the guys in the team. Mike, Cory and Rob all worked tirelessly again on the weekend and their hard work is the reason for our success.”